A Different Draft-Day Story

According to Jeff Kassouf in an article on ESPN.com: "A draft is a uniquely American concept." I agree with him completely. Why is that? (You should read Kassouf's article for his excellent thesis.)

Mine starts with these two reasons: 1) we tie sports opportunities for youth to our education system or to private enterprise (for those who can afford it, anyway); and 2) our seeming love-affair with hype.

To the first, while we tax- or student fee- payers provide opportunities for many high school and college athletes to compete in a sport like American football, it is private individuals who fund developmental youth programs in communities throughout the U.S. for global football and nearly all other sports. This has been more obvious at the international level in individual sports, think gymnastics, swimming or wrestling.

The term "Soccer Moms" didn't become part of our national vernacular without the lived experiences of families (whatever the sport) driving their minivans to and from some practice or competition every weekend.

(If you haven't read Rick Reilly's brilliant 2006 piece that explains a bit of the difference between a full and equivalency scholarship, do yourself a favor and enjoy it now. Soccer is an equivalency sport. Also, you gotta love the interwebs that allow for digital trips down memory lane.)

Despite our growing understanding that youth development in the U.S. at the elite level occurs through private enterprise (and privilege) and exists within sport structures such as the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), Americans have made college sports a $multi-billion industry on the backs of a few U.S. sports: basketball (m or w in some places) and American football. (Yes, I know most college football programs don't actually make money.)

The point is college football is almost the only place where future NFL players are developed and so we Americans tend to overvalue athletic development at the collegiate level based on that sport.

By comparison, most other countries provide youth sport development outside of education through community club systems that can lead, ultimately, to professional opportunities. (Think European football clubs as depicted in contemporary media like "Ted Lasso" and "Welcome to Wrexham" or winter sports in Norway that often lead to Olympic glory.)

An international student joins a local sports club if that's where their interest lies as sports, through education, are not offered. (Wait, they don't have school sports? Correct.)

For the past several decades it's been those college scholarships—full or equivalency—that have provided most U.S. women who compete on international teams a way to develop beyond those youth clubs experiences.

Segue to my second point. I don't want to rant about how much we Americans are primed to support our version of football ...

(Although, I have a great story about taking a group of international students to their first college football game-day experience where one of them said immediately following the third quarter: "The best action took place during half-time when that incredible band performed. I mean the rest of this sport is like 10 seconds of action followed by a lot of time standing around before the next 10 seconds of action. Why is this so popular?) ...

We do seem to love hype, don't we? In 2024, it was literally the day after the "Big Game" (I don't work for CBS) when ESPN's website featured a "preview" story for the NFL draft three months in the future. Hype for "who will win the next Heisman Trophy?" will start before the college season does. The hype created for the crossover from college to NFL football player has created a media circus that drives engagement for the league during its offseason.

On the day of the 2024 NWSL Draft in January, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman talked about her love of having a draft for the "personal moments" an event like that can produce. And, she was right for that night. Each of the 56 college players who heard their name called had their moment as Kassouf's article describes.

But it wasn't that fact that stayed with me. Rather, it was that the first two draft picks were teenagers who had only completed one season—and at schools with outstanding academic value that appreciate women's soccer. Those players couldn't see a reason to stay in school despite their ability to profit off their own name, image and likeness (NIL), which has become a legal way for college athletes to earn a living in addition to their scholarships.

So, if the top two athletes drafted by the NWSL can't get good enough NIL deals to warrant staying in school while on scholarship? ...

News recently broke that Nike inked a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with a 13-year-old girl who competes on a club team and for the U.S. under-15 youth national program. Oh, and she's home schooled. (Ed. note from July 2024, she has since turned 14 and was recently signed to play for NJ/NY Gotham FC.)

During that 2024 NWSL draft night, I had the great fortune to sit next to the aunt and uncle of one of those teenagers drafted in the first round. "She promised me she'd finish college in the next few years, probably online" her uncle shared. "Good for her," I replied and meant it.

In the weeks that followed the draft, which did feature an opportunity for 44 more roster spots thanks to the addition of two new teams, I began to notice how many international players were signing contracts with the 14 teams while those 56 draftees are basically trying out for the clubs that drafted them and some will not actually sign a contract.

Americans may still enjoy hype and think college is a good place for athletes to develop, but that's no longer the reality for soccer and several other sports will follow. These athletes are trained in rapidly developing quality club programs. And, sadly, the emphasis on who can afford to "pay to play" will continue to hinder Team USA for the foreseeable future.

Kassouf sums it up well: "The draft is not evil, nor is it irrelevant. It is uniquely American, something that existed from the idea that the NWSL had a monopoly on American talent. It has no such status, which league executives increasingly understand. There might be better ways for players to develop and transition from amateurs to professionals, ultimately, and the draft is another element of the NWSL caught in the crosshairs of what is best for the sport and best for the business."

Do remember, "best for the business" also now means Wait, how much can a 13-year-old command from a global brand on an NIL deal that has nothing to do with her schooling?

Good grief, I hear the minivans revving.